Today there are different joining methods for joining together alloys having high melting temperatures. By high temperature a melting temperature higher than 900° C. is intended. One common method which is used is welding. Welding refers to a method wherein the base material with or without additional material is melted, i.e. creation of a cast product via melting and re-solidification. Another joining method is brazing. During the brazing process a braze filler is added to the base material, and the braze filler is melted during the process at a temperature above 450° C., i.e. forming a liquid interface, at a temperature lower than liquidus temperature of the base material to be joined. When brazing the liquid interface should have good wetting and flow. Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing of a filler metal, i.e. a solder, into the joint, the solder having a lower melting point than the work-piece. In brazing, the filler metal melts at a higher temperature than the solder, but the work-piece metal does not melt. The distinction between soldering and brazing is based on the melting temperature of the filler alloy. A temperature of 450° C. is usually used as a practical delineating point between soldering and brazing.
When brazing a braze filler is applied in contact with the gap or the clearance between the base material to be joined. During the heating process the braze filler melts and fills the gap to be joined. In the brazing process there are three major stages the first stage is called the physical stage. The physical stage includes wetting and flowing of the braze filler. The second stage normally occurs at a given joining temperature. During this stage there is solid-liquid interaction, which is accompanied by substantial mass transfer. The base material volume that immediately adjoins the liquid filler metal either dissolves or is reacted with the filler metal in this stage. At the same time a small amount of elements from the liquid phases penetrates into the solid base material. This redistribution of components in the joint area results in changes to the filler metal composition, and sometimes, the onset of solidification of the filler metal. The last stage, which overlaps the second, is characterized by the formation of the final joint microstructure and progresses during solidification and cooling of the joint.
A method closely related to welding and brazing is diffusion brazing (DFB) also called Transient Liquid-phase bonding (TLP), or Activated Diffusion Bonding (ADB). Sometimes diffusion bonding is mentioned, but diffusion bonding refers to diffusion brazing or diffusion welding and now diffusion bonding is considered to be a non-standard term.
Diffusion brazing (DFB), Transient Liquid-phase bonding (TLP), or Activated Diffusion Bonding (ADB) is a process that coalesces, or joins, metals by heating them to a suitable brazing temperature at which either a preplaced filler metal will melt or flow by capillary attraction or a liquid phase will form in situ between two surfaces in contact with each other. In either case, the filler metal diffuses into the base material until the physical and mechanical properties of the joint become almost identical to those of the base metal. Two critical aspects of DFB, TLP, or ADB are that:                a liquid must be formed and become active in the joint area; and        extensive diffusion of the filler metal elements into the base material must occur.        
Ways of obtaining a joint close or the same as the one obtained when DFB, TLP, or ADB is used, but has the advantage of brazing, e.g having the possibility to braze larger gaps etc, is by using a brazing technique and braze fillers disclosed by WO 2002/38327, WO 2008/060225 and WO 2008/060226. By using a braze filler, i.e. a braze alloy, with a composition close to the base material but with added melting point depressants, e.g. silicon and/or boron and/or phosphorus. By doing this the braze joint will have a composition close to the base material after brazing since braze filler had a similar composition as the base material, the braze filler blends with the base material due to dissolution of the base material and the melting point depressants diffuses into the base material.
There are many reasons for selecting a certain joining method, such as cost, productivity, safety, speed and properties of the joined product. Closely related E-modules will decrease the risk of high stresses in the material with higher E-module when the material is loaded. When the thermal expansion coefficient is similar the result will decrease the thermally induced stresses. When the electrochemical potential is similar the result will decrease the risk for corrosion.
The use of fillers, i.e. alloys, when joining base metals is a complicated process. The filler has to be in a form that could be applied to the base metal before heating. Usually the fillers are particles suitably produced by atomization, but the fillers may also be in form of foils produced by “melt-spinning”, i.e. rapid solidification (RS). Regarding RS only a limited number of compositions are possible to produce by RS. The number of compositions that can be made as particles, i.e. powder, is greater and the normal production of powders is by atomizing. When the fillers are in form of powders then they are often combined with binders to form a paste, which could be applied to the base metal in any suitable way. To produce foils or to produce alloy powders are complicated processes and therefore costly. When powders are used the powders are suitable applied in form of a paste as mentioned above, this will add an extra step to the process since the paste need to be blended with the binders and other components, which are beneficial for the paste's properties. For both processes a great amount of work is carried out to get the right form, properties, shape and composition of the filler before melting and joining. Therefore, one purpose for the invention is to reduce the process steps when joining base metals. Another purpose is to simplify the joining of the base metals and thus reduce costs.
If possible, when selecting braze fillers, a composition close to the base material is beneficial, since the base material has been selected for the product purposes. If it would have been possible and cost was no limit, it would be best to develop one braze filler for each base material. Therefore another purpose with the invention is to decrease the needed number of braze fillers.